[time-nuts] GPS interference and history...

Jim Lux jimlux at earthlink.net
Fri Jan 13 05:31:22 UTC 2012


On 6/9/11 1:30 PM, Javier Herrero wrote:
> I don't think it is feasible... for a cooling reason :)


You've got cold space to radiate to: a few hundred watts/square meter at 
300K as I recall.  And if you run a reactor which is the heat source for 
a steam engine of some sort, and the condenser can run moderately hot, 
you can reject a lot of heat.  that T^4 factor really helps if you run 
the condenser at 100-200C.  Glowing red would even be better, if the 
materials hold up.


There's a lot of interesting things you can do in space if you have tons 
of power. For instance, you can run mechanical refrigeration to pull the 
heat away from your electronics and radiate it (from a hot radiator, 
which can be small).

The comsats with the dozens of TWTAs use radiation cooling: the 
collector end of the tube sticks outside the body.


Usually, in space, your problem is keeping things warm enough, not 
keeping them cold.  There's more square meters facing cold space than 
facing the sun.


>
> Regards,
>
> Javier
>
> El 09/06/2011 22:18, William H. Fite escribió:
>> I well recall the furor over Cassini-Huygens in 1997 but approval was
>> ultimately granted and, of course, the launch was without incident. Since
>> then, New Horizons, Galileo, and Ulysses have been launched with far less
>> public outcry, despite the fact that all are powered by RTGs. Arguably,
>> well-designed reactors could be even safer.
>>




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